The Heist – Part 1

AN: I HATED writing this chapter. Not because I hate Kasumi's loyalty mission in and off itself, but because it's really hard to write so it's interesting to read. I had a few ideas for the party that I absolutely needed for minor plot purposes, but figuring out the exact order they did each little objective was hard as hell. Most ways had Shepard doing everything on his own, a few had Kasumi being an almost omniscient leader. However eventually it clicked and I think I managed to find a good balance between their screen (page?) time.

Turns out, this mission was also REALLY long so I decided to split it up. Unfortunately I don't have the next chapter ready yet, but I'll start writing it shortly, which will also be my first real indicator of how good I am at writing action and combat.

Lastly before we get to the story itself; a few people commented, asking me why I would use Nami over Robin and they made some good points. Robin is more used to playing a role than Nami that is absolutely true. I want to say that I have a super good reason not to but really it's a few small ones that kinda stack together. The major one is that I need Nami here for a small subplot. Secondly Shepard and co. doesn't exactly know Robin's backstory or anything about her at all really, except that she's an archeologist whom happens to be a bit closed off and rather introverted, none of which spells great actor. And lastly Nami is most likely not completely unfamiliar with a bit of acting from her days as a pirate thief, so it's not like she's out of her element anyways (of course Shepard and co. doesn't know much of her either so that's hardly a part of their reasoning anyways).


"So what's the plan?" Shepard asked as he drove their rented skycar, following the GPS coordinates Kasumi had given him.

The thief besides him smiled. "Oh you know; a simple infiltration operation. Your cover is Solomon Gunn, head of a small, talented merc band out in the terminus system. The type of guy Hock respects. I've already build up the character, giving you a badass reputation and everything."

"What about me?" The question came from the smirking red head on the back seat. She was dressed to impress, hair tied up to perfection and little black dress hugging her figure like second skin.

Kasumi sighed in disappointment, a pout on her lips as she answered. "Didn't have time to set up anything fancy, so we'll just have to go with the old 'gold digger with a thing for bad boys'-setup."

Nami gave a half amused snort. "Well that's kinda boring isn't it?"

"I knooooow!" the hooded thief whined. "It's so cliché it's not even funny! The worst part is that it almost always works. Just hang on to a wealthy man's arm and no one bats an eye that you're there. Ugh! Makes thing's too easy."

The navigator broke out into laughter. "Seems men idiots no matter what universe you're in, huh?"

"Could you two focus?" Shepard broke in, slightly peeved with the turn the conversation had taken.

"Oh, fine. No need to get all grumpy." Came the reply from the back seat. "So, what kind of people are we dealing with at this party?"

"Oh you know, the usual big fish criminal rabble: Weapons dealers, smugglers, slavers, drug lords. All kinds of pleasant people who like to keep their business as far from their person as possible to avoid jail time," the dry sarcasm wasn't hard to miss in Kasumi's voice as she peered back over her shoulder. "No one you will lose any sleep over."

Nami's grin was quickly answered by Kasumi's.

Shepard looked over at them from the corner of his eye, a little unsure whether he should be happy or concerned. On one hand he liked it when his crew got along. On her other he didn't entirely know what to make of the pirates yet, he just knew he wasn't a big fan of pirates in general, no matter how different these seemed. Then again, this entire mission was setting him up with some rather questionable crewmembers, pirates aside.

He shook his head and looked back out the front window, spying a large mansion coming up on the horizon. "We're almost there ladies. Now might be the time to go over the plan in detail?"

Kasumi sighed dramatically, "Well alright, but only because you've been such a good boy and waited patiently." Her cheeky reply was rewarded with a scowl from Shepard. "As you know Hock is throwing a little party for some of his closest friends, all of which will be bringing gifts for their lovely host."

As she spoke, her hands started working over the skycar's computer, pulling up images of importance. A swipe of her hand brought a large golden statue of an armed turian in full armor. "Our gift is a lovely statue of your old friend Saren, rendered in loving detail and filled to the brim with our weapons and armor."

Shepard looked over at her, feeling the pistol he had place in a shoulder holster under his tuxedo coat. "Are we going in unarmed?"

Kasumi waved a hand dispassionately at his torso, "Oh, you can keep your pistol as long as it's concealed. No one is going to hassle you over a sidearm." Another swipe at the computer and a few interior shots showed up, "Anyways, once we're inside we just have to get to Hock's vault door towards the back of the ball room, crack the security and arm up at the statue that should be waiting to be moved into the vault. After that we just waltz right in and take back Keiji's greybox. And I finally get a chance to say goodbye…" The last sentence she mumbled out under her breath, while looking out the side window.

An arm reached out from behind her and placed itself on her shoulder. Kasumi startled and looked back over shoulder at the red head that was giving her a small, encouraging smile. "He must have meant a lot to you." Nami said softly.

Kasumi moved her head back around to look out the front window again and spoke dryly, "Was I that obvious?" She gave a small sigh before she continued, "Yes, the greybox holds a lot of priceless, personal memories. It's all that's left of who he was." Her head snapped over to look at Shepard before she went on. "But the secret he discovered is dangerous! I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important!"

Nami gave her shoulder a rub, patting it a couple of times before she withdrew it, "Hey, don't worry about it. We'll just go in, grab it and get back out. Easy peasy!"

Kasumi's shoulders untightened a little, "Exactly. Easy peasy!" She copied light heartedly.

Shepard gave a sigh as he steered the skycar down for a landing. "Well this should be interesting."


Having set the skycar down, Shepard strode towards the entrance with one of the girls on each arm. However before they could start up the stairs, one of the security guards stopped them, claiming a problem with their Trojan horse. Luckily for them that was also the moment the man of honor himself stepped outside.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked superciliously.

The guard was quick to dismiss his boss worry though, "No Mr. Hock, just doing a scan."

Hock didn't deign him with a response and instead turned his attention to the three guests. "I don't believe we've meet. Donovan Hock."

Slipping on his most charming smile, Shepard freed his right hand from Kasumi's grasp and stepped forwards to offer it for a shake, "I've heard a lot about you. Name's Solomon Gunn."

Hock cast a glance down his nose at the hand before he ignored it, "And I've heard a lot about you. You've been very busy lately if the extranet is to be believed." With that said, he shifted his attention to the large statue the group had brought him as a gift.

The guard saw that as his moment to try and regain his boss attention, "Sir, the scanners aren't picking anything up."

The guard got a dismissive "Hmm," from the arms dealer. "I don't think our guests would come all the way from Illium just to cause trouble. Do you?"

The guard rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably as his boss settled his gaze upon him. In reply he simply gave a shrug and hoped it would keep him in good grazes.

Hock shook his head in disappointment over his guard, seeming to find him incompetent, before he turned his attention back to his guests. "You may pass through Mr. Gunn, with my apologies." Nodding towards Kasumi he added, "I'll have to ask that she stays outside however. I hope you understand."

Shepard's brows knit together in a small scowl, not liking people talking down to his friends. "Care to explain why my friend has to stand outside?"

"I don't like the look of your 'friend' so she stays outside. Simple as that." Came the harsh reply, before he shifted his gaze towards Nami and added more pleasantly, "Besides your red head should be enough to show your social standing don't you think?"

When Shepard looked like he wanted to argue further, both girls each gave him a discreet elbow to his sides and finally he let the subject drop, "No problem, you're the host."

A short, "Enjoy the party," was all they got before Hock turn his back on them and entered his home.

Kasumi gave Shepard's arm a small tug and lead the other two a little away from the entrance so they could talk briefly. "Well that didn't go as I expected," the comment coming out rather lightheartedly.

"I hate when things don't go as planned. Do you think he recognized you?" Nami questioned seriously.

The hooded thief shook her head and replied with a shrug, "No, we've never seen each other in person. And no one knows what I look like. Just watching his ass I'm sure."

The Commander glanced back over his shoulder before asking, "So what now?"

"You two will just have to do all the talking. You still have an escort so it's not like you'll look terribly out of place. Meanwhile I'll stay out of sight and stick with you as best I can."

Shepard nodded and offered his elbow to Nami again, and together they made their way inside.

"We'll keep radio contact in case something goes wrong," was the last words Kasumi said as she activated her cloaking device and vanished from sight.

A shudder ran through Nami's spine, the memory of Absalom's stalking on Thriller Bark playing quickly through her mind before discarded it.


Getting down the stairs that lead to the vault door was almost embarrassingly easy. Everybody at the party seemed to be so caught up in their own conversations and egos that they completely missed Shepard and Nami as they slowly made their way down stairs.

Kasumi assured them that while the security may be impressive at first glance, it really wasn't anything to worry about. DNA samples, voice manipulation and a small cut in the power was all they had to do really. It was just a matter of time before they could grab the greybox and walk out the front door.

With that reassurance Shepard and Nami headed back up the stairs arm in arm and head outside on the terrace to scout out the security. A datapad laying around, forgotten by one of the guards, gave them their first clue on how to bypass the vaults security. A brief notice about a 'Chief Roe' gave Kasumi an idea and she was quick to direct them towards the security room.

Hacking her way through the door's lockdown was nothing short of child's play to the thief and in seconds they had slipped unnoticed into the hall leading to the security room proper.

Shepard drew his gun, and counted down on his fingers from three, before he slammed his fist against the door's holopad and it opened with a whoosh.

Nami raised a semi impressed eyebrow as Shepard sent two shots to the back of the first guard's skull, while Kasumi slipped out of stealth right next to the other and knocked him out with a short series of punches to his torso and throat. The battle barely even begun before it ended.

"Search the room." Came the quick order from Shepard, as he headed straight for safe on the wall and broke away the covering so he could start short-circuiting the wiring. Kasumi walked over to a nearby computer station and started sifting through files.

Nami stared around herself for a bit, unsure where to begin. She barely knew anything about technology in her own world – that was after all Franky and Usopp's specialty – never mind all this new stuff. She had looked at her omni-tool a little but hadn't found much motivation, knowing it wouldn't really be helpful once they left this world or universe or whatever it was. So with that out as an option, she instead figured she'd root through the papers and open datapads on the table instead.

Luckily it turned out useful. "I've got something; the password for tonight is Pe-ru-gia."

Kasumi looked up from her fiddling, "It's pronounced Peruggia. It's the name of a man who stole a very famous painting from Earth called the Mona Lisa." She gave her hasty history lesson to the red-head, "I've managed to tapped into their communications; it might just come in handy." She sent the younger girl a wink before she turned to Shepard.

"So a voice and DNA sample from Hock and we should be done, right?" Shepard questioned.

"Well that and cutting the power."

"Right. Let's move out then."


As Kasumi slipped back into stealth, Nami and Shepard once again took to circling the floor. Spying a lone blonde guard in front of a secluded door, Nami pulled Shepard to a stopped and stood up on her toes so she could whisper into his ear. "How much do you wanna bet that blonde is guarding Hock's private rooms?"

Shepard raised his eyes to spy over her shoulder before replying, "Nicely spotted, but how do we get passed him?"

The red-head gave him a cheeky smile, before she dragged him off towards one of the circling waiters. She quickly grabbed two flutes of Champagne, passed one to Shepard before she dragged him back out onto the terrace. The she placed him in front of her to shield herself, before she downed her glass, grabbed his and used her fingers to sprinkle a few drops on her chest and behind her ears. Drinking half she suddenly wrapped Shepard's arm around her torso, while she clung drunkenly onto him.

All done with her setup, she whisper to him, "Follow my lead and take us back up towards the guard," before she broke out into drunken giggles.

Always quick to put two and two together Shepard put his trust in the pirate's impromptu plan and did as she said, leading up in front of the guard.

The blonde was quick to take a step forwards and put his hand up, signaling them to stop, "Mr. Hock's private rooms are off-limits to guests without security clearance," he spoke in a monotone, clearly bored by his job.

Nami gave off another drunken giggle and reached out to run a finger down the guard's chest plate. "You knoooow," she slurred with a seductive gleam in her eyes, "I always liked a man in uniform."

The guard cleared his throat uncomfortably and ran a finger along the neck of his under-suit.

While the guard was distracted, Kasumi's voice cracked to life in their ear-pieces, "Drop Chief Roe's name. I think I've got the rest of the plan."

Shepard gave the guard an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry about that. My escort has had a little too much to drink it seems."

A calculating, mischievous look crossed over Nami's eyes, as she treaded the fingers of her right hand with Shepard's and let her legs drop all her weight with a surprised "Woops!" Shepard's steadying arm around her waist and ribs was suddenly forced to hold her completely and slid up enough – with Nami's help – to cup one of her breasts.

Shepard's eyes went wide at the current situation, before Nami found her legs under herself. She lead his hand down off her assets, before she trailed a finger down the side of his face and continued in her seductive, drunken slur, "So that'sss what you planned. You naughty boy!"

Shepard's attention immediately turned to the guard – who suddenly seemed a lot more amused by his job – "Chief Roe said we could use Hock's rooms so my partner here can rest a bit!" He spoke in a rush, clearly embarrassed about the situation.

The blonde guard laughed a bit, "One second." He told the pair, before he turned his attention to his omni-tool, "Chief, did you give authorization to Mr. Hock's private rooms?"

Instead of whoever this Roe was, it was Kasumi's voice that came back with a reply. In a rude tone she snapped at the guard, "They have access Samuels, now stop bothering me!"

Samuels, as the guard was called, stood a little more straight, "Got it ma'am! Sorry to bother you ma'am!" He turned his attention to the pair in front of him again, where Nami still hadn't stopped running a finger along Shepard's jaw, giggling all the way. "You can go in. Enjoy the party."

The Commander, having had enough of Nami's playing, hooked his left arm under Nami's knees and picked her up, before stepping inside. He didn't put her down until the door closed behind him, and the moment he did he rounded on her, "Don't you think that was a little much!?" He snapped.

Nami gave him a much too cheeky grin, before she turned her back to him and started heading for the stairs. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that? Going after such a poor, defenseless drunk girl like me and copping a feel? By the way, I'm charging you 500.000 beri for that." She said happily.

Shepard stormed after her, "WHAT!? That was your fault entirely! Besides, where the hell am I even going to get any beri, let alone 500.000 of them?"

Nami rounded on him immediately and poked a finger into his chest, "That's not my problem, but you better pay up if you know what's good for you!" she snapped before she turned again, entirely ignoring his first point. As an afterthought she added over her shoulder, "Oh and by the way, I take 300% in interests, so you better find a way to pay up fast." With that she started slipping down the stairs as if she owned the place.

Shepard stood flabbergasted for a moment, sputtering like an idiot before he decided to seek help, "Kasumi help me talk some sense into her, please!?"

A much too amused Kasumi, slipped out of stealth besides Shepard, "Nah, this is much to fun. I think I'll see how you get yourself out of this one on your own Shep." With that she followed the girl downstairs, leaving Shepard gapping like a fish out of water by the balcony.


When Kasumi came down stairs, she found Nami right inside the doorway with her hands on her hips, scanning the room with her eyes. Sounding very amused the thief asked; "What was it you said about being cliché? I mean really; 'the drunk girl routine'?"

The navigator stuck her tongue out cheekily at her, "What can I say? I thought we were running a theme for this heist," before she turned back to scanning the room at large again "So anyways, what exactly are we looking for?"

The thief chuckled and walked up beside her, taking her right arm into her hands to fiddle with her omni-tool. "DNA samples basically. Like skin or saliva samples or any other bodily fluids."

"That sounds gross…"

"Well you don't have to touch it. There!" The Asian said triumphantly. "I've set your Omni-tool up to scan for biological matter now, just run it over anything you think might give us a sample and it'll read it for us to use later."

Nami looked down at the glowing gauntlet on her arm and hand. "Huh… This thing might not be as useless as I thought."

Kasumi gave her a grin as the both set out into the apartment to start looking, Kasumi to the bed and Nami across the room to the walled off antiquities.

Less than a minute later Nami piped up, "Huh, there seems to be something on the swords."

"They are most likely priceless. The cleaners wouldn't dare to touch them, so we could probably get some skin cells from the dust."

"Again; EW!" Nami responded with a shudder, before she continued in a contemplative tone, "They kinda make me wonder how long they would last Zoro."

The thief looked out from the book shelves she'd gravitated towards after checking the bed, "What do you mean?"

The red head shrugged and moved further along the room. She spared a brief glace over to the door where Shepard wordlessly entered and started going over the sofa in silence "Well in the time I've known him, he's broken 3 swords already. I mean he takes care of them alright, but…"

She was interrupted by a triumphant cry of "HAH!" from Shepard, which garnered him the others attention.

Kasumi whirled on him immediately, "Found something?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah! A credit chit!"

The sentence barely left his lips before the red-head had moved across the room and torn the chit from his hands, holding it up to her greedily shining eyes. "So this contains money? How does it work?" she asked, sounding much too excited.

Kasumi gave a surprised laugh, and then winked at her from under her cowl. "Yeah it does. Tell you what, if you hold onto it, I'll teach you how to empty it after we finish our mission."

As the navigator grinned at the thief, Shepard shook his head at the greedy outburst, and instead scanned the nearby wineglass. "Hmm, got something here."

Kasumi nodded, reading the output of the data shared between their omni-tools, "Not a great saliva sample, so we'll need a little more." She continued to run her omni-tool over the desk near her, not picking up anything, before it gave a small beep once it reach a datapad laying out in the open.

She picked it up, quickly skimming the open document on it while she scanned the keyboard. "He seems to have obsessed over this. Either way the sweat residue from this should give us enough to reconstruct a full sample."

Shepard moved his focus from the ashtray he was about to scan and gave a nod, "Right, let's get a move on then."

Together the group headed out into the hallway again and headed up the stairs to exit the way they came in.

Kasumi spoke up, "When we get back out, you two should probably split up so we can hurry things along. If Shepard goes to get the voice sample from Hock, I'll set Nami's omni-tool to scan for the power line to the vault. Two birds with one stone you know?"

The cropped haired commander gave a nod, "Sounds good to me."

They stopped outside the door and Kasumi once again grabbed Nami's arm to fiddle with the orange contraption.

"You know, it would probably be simpler if someone taught us how to use these things if they are going to be this important."

"Good point," the hooded woman replied with a smile, "Maybe we can set up some evening classes or something."

Shepard interrupted them before they could start planning to far ahead, "Either way, we'll look into it back on the ship. We still have a job to do, remember?"

The two nodded at him as Kasumi once again went into stealth mode. Shepard hit the button to open the door and the two split up.


As Shepard went over and started a conversation with Hock, which ended up in a long and loud monologue from the megalomaniac. Nami slipped off to the right side of the building and found the power cables.

She weaved in and out between all the big important guests, a polite yet slightly seductive smile gracing her lips. Even though she quickly discovered where the cables lead, she still decided to take a small detour around the guests, seemingly wanting to detract any attention aimed towards her, before slipping behind the bookcase that hid the generator. Giving a statue on one of the shelves a slight pull, the fake fireplace raised up behind the books and Kasumi slipped back out of stealth besides her.

"Good find," the thief complimented, before she raised her omni-tool to the generator. A sparking sound was heard as a small electrical discharge erupted from it. "Shep is already down in the vault room getting changed, so let's hurry down and get it cracked so we can get Keiji's greybox back," her tone sounding slightly hollow as she finished.

Nami placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile, "Don't worry, we'll get it." Nami encouraged positively.

Kasumi gave a brief smile before she reactivated her suits stealth setting, and off they went to what they thought to be a quick and peaceful end to their mission.


AN: There we go. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and once again I apologize for the delay.